


millisecond change

by chininiris, crypticpanda, mahreemari



Series: 2nu Week [2]
Category: Gorillaz
Genre: 2nu, 2nuweek, 2nuweek2019, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-16
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2020-06-30 21:33:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,544
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19824847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chininiris/pseuds/chininiris, https://archiveofourown.org/users/crypticpanda/pseuds/crypticpanda, https://archiveofourown.org/users/mahreemari/pseuds/mahreemari
Summary: Entries for 2nu Week 2019:Day 1: Summer Picnic - Sometimes nothing is nicer than feeling the cool summer breeze with a loved one on a soft blanket.Day 2: Beaming Summer Beach - The best way to beat the heat is a trip to the beach!Day 3: Leisurely Vacation - A vacation is always a must for summer.Day 4: Nautical Fantasy - The ocean is full of legends of fantastic proportions.Day 5: Summer Festival - In Noodle’s homeland, summer festivals are a staple.Day 6: Stargazing Serenity - The sky is clear and stars stretch as far as the eye can see.Day 7: Fireworks - Colors burst from the previously empty night sky and trickle down into falling streaks of embers.





	1. magic lantern strange

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 1: Summer Picnic  
> huge thanks to pandy and chins for agreeing to join me in writing once again, it'll always be one of my most favorite things to do.

Sunshine, sitting in the cool shade of a big tree, enjoying nature, good homemade food.

That was the idea.

Was.

With a frown, 2D flicked away another ant from his ham and cheese sandwich. Bloody bastards.

It was a rather nice day in hindsight. A bright sun covered by lazy clouds hung in the sky, so there was less heat to bare and they were able to go out for once without needing to hide desperately in what little shade where was.

It was Noodle's idea, no surprise as she always had good ones.

They had sat on the couch last night, the television playing the latest episode of "The Walking Dead", when Noodle, her phone in her hand, announced the plan.

"Let's go on a picnic tomorrow, you and me."

He had just kept staring at the TV, too distraught over the latest character death, and nodded absentmindedly.

So now here they were, sitting in the local park, away from everything else (at least as far as they could be), surrounded by bugs trying to steal their precious chomps. Noodle wasn’t particularly annoyed, as she could just pick them straight out of the air and squish them between her fingers, but 2D wasn’t nearly as skilled at the art of bug-slaying as she was.

“I didn’t put all this effort into our food so the stupid bugs can eat it all.”

"Effort from the local deli you mean."

“What are you talking about, I had to hand them my card, it counts."

“Keep telling that yourself,” she grinned.

2D grunted and swatted another fly in Noodle's direction.

It was easier to just send them all her way than just letting them have their way.

She was death in person, which was, especially in situations like these, a definite plus. At least sometimes.

There was one tiny fucker that just wouldn't kick the bucket and kept flying into his face, even attempting to dive into his open mouth several times.

“Fuckers. All of them. I’m outta here.”

He got up from the blanket, annoyed to find that the fly continued to persist, and gave a pitiful expression to Noodle.

"Noodle, why is it still following me?”

Her laugh was normally a source of happiness and joy, but right he could just scowl at her-

It touched his nose.

"Noodle. Help. Please."

He took a step, his foot entangling with the blanket, his abandoned plate went flying and he yelped as he crashed into the guitarist, sending them rolling down the grassy knoll in a heap of limbs.

His head knocked into her shoulder as they fell, his face tucked into her neck. The world slowly steadied itself as they came to a stop.

He wanted to cry.

The fly flew into his ear and he could feel it buzzing throughout his body.

Quickly, 2D looked up, hoping to dislodge the bug.

His eyes met Noodle's and he froze.

Her face was red and her eyes glinting, the tickling in his ear moved to his heart.

She pulled the fucker out of his ear and squashed it.

He loved her so much.


	2. girl, your life will turn

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 2: Beaming Summer Beach  
> 

There's sand on his skin, swept in his hair, in between his toes from where his flip flops sink into the sand, and even in his trunks, the tiny granules itching uncomfortably on his chafing skin. 

He's wandering there, away from the others playing at the beach, the little forgotten spot in Guadalupe he thought he was lost in.

The bones of the whale were bare and scattered, it's flesh long picked away from scavengers.

2D licked his lips, the taste of rotten blubber still thick in his mouth.

He hates whales, especially Massive, but Massive died and he ate him and that makes them even.

2D crouches down, hand digging in the sand, picking up a random piece of bone the size of his fist and pockets it to take home.

He didn't stay long after that, turning around to walk along the familiar path he took two years ago and is met with the sound of laughter from his friends.

He is no longer lost.

He sees them running around, two shocks of green wrestling in the sand, Russel in the ocean on the giant inflatable ring they had bought the flight before, his eyes closed and relaxed under the shade of the plastic tree.

And then there was Noodle.

Noodle who was walking out of the water.

The Noodle who was walking up to him.

"Did you get lost on your walk?" She smiled, clad in a striped bikini, salt water dripping from her hair, her pale skin pinked at the shoulders from a coming sunburn. 

Noodle brushed his arm, swiping away the sand crusted on his skin, puffing an amused huff.

"Look at you, just like Murdoc and Ace. I haven’t seen you play with them though. Did you trip? It's everywhere."

Her slender hands were cool as they patted his shoulders, sweeping up into his hair to jostle the strands, her fingertips teased the shell of his ears, her manicured thumbs rubbing circles into his cheeks.

"You're a bit red, but I think another coat of sunscreen will do you just fine. I'll help you with that. I was just about to add a new layer myself."

Noodle grabs onto his wrist, tugging the bewildered singer behind her to their beach blanket. She perches him on the edge of one of their fold-able chaise lounges and stands on her knees between his legs.

"Look down please," she asks, waiting for him to bend down, the cap of the sunscreen lotion clicking open in her hands.

Her fingers touch his cheekbones, the lotion now slick and hot from being left out in the sun.

"Close your eyes," Noodle instructs him, sweeping over the bridge of his nose and his brows.

He follows the tracing sensation, his eyes resting down as she wished. Quietly he breathes, taking in the smell of the ocean salt on her skin and the orange syrup from the shaved ice they had gotten during lunch mixed in her breath. The touches slow to a stop and there's a light pressure on his forehead, 2D's cracks an eye open and meets the vivid green of Noodle.

"Hey man," she whispers at his lips, her expression doting and sweet, "you lost?"

Her hands cover his, gliding over his palms, linking the grip between.

His chest twitches in a shy flit and a smile peeks out at the soothing touch, his head rubbing her slow and affectionate.

"No," he breathes, "not lost."


	3. slide the light off you

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 3: Leisurely Vacation  
> 

One thing 2D hated more than anything else? Right hand traffic. He had gotten used to it in the US but the straight and broad highways were an entirely different thing from the serpentine like narrow roads he was currently trying to navigate. That and there were of course whales, the ocean, climbing trees, Murdoc. But the right hand traffic was probably in his top 10. Their Winnebago was way too bulky for this kind of action. 2D hadn’t been able to stop trembling in fear the entire way up the mountain road. As he still sat on the right side of the car, he had a front seat view of the entire way down into the abyss. Why weren’t there any crash barriers or safety nets or whatever was deeply troubling?

He had been hiking before of course. But not in the alps. Not with a four person RV. Not with an RV where he had to sit on the bloody wrong side. 

Why Murdoc had insisted on getting a new one, no one knew. It’s not like they had a lot of stuff they had to drag around everywhere and as vain as it sounded, they had enough money to afford individual hotel rooms for everyone. But as much as the old man denied it, he was sentimental, so the Winnebago it was.

The sound of paper crinkling next to him made him look. Noodle insisted on using an old paper map alongside the GPS, "track our adventure along" she said. She had probably been inspired by her trip last year.

Amidst the occasional honking and the whirling fans, Russel's audible snores in the back were a true testament to how long they had been stuck on the road.

"I'm glad you decided to join us," Noodle said, folding the map close, "You didn't have to."

“You guys go, I go too, ‘s just the way it is.”

2D held a breath when an incoming car inched too close for comfort and sighed when its attached trailer slipped by, luckily missing them. 

The dark night was hanging over the bumpy road, the headlights giving him the slightest ability to see. With a sigh he decided to pull over in the next parking nook.

"We probably aren't going anywhere higher anytime soon," 2D sighed as he pulled the keys out of the ignition and tossed them in the cupholder.

He rested his head on the steering wheel and looked out his window. He would roll it down, breathe in some of the fresh air, but considering the flies that were still smacking against the glass, even though he had long stopped moving, he decided against it. 

He turned his head to the other side, glancing at Noodle who had her eyes closed as she yawned and leaned back in her chair, obviously enjoying the break after the long drive.

Slowly, she faced him as well, the milky moonlight framing her hair like a halo, no longer hidden by the wispy clouds that had been streaking about. Her teeth glinted in the shallow light as she smiled and let out a yawn.

"Good call, I was getting tired."

2D watched as her breath slowed to a quiet draw, her wild strands of hair strewn around her face. She looked so peaceful, curled on her side.

He inched closer, a shaky hand poking her cheek, amused when her brow flinched, her hand swatting up in annoyance. 

_ Thump. Thump. _

He touched a hand to his chest and sighed.

‘It's got to be the altitude,’ he thought to himself

2D closed his eyes, hoping no one but him could hear his heartbeat.

“2D?”

“Yea?”

She was looking at him with calculating eyes, staring down into his soul. 

“Without you I wouldn’t have gone either.”

Her arms still wrapped around her legs, she slowly leaned towards him.

“Oi, morons.”

Both of them jumped just as Murdoc’s head shoved itself between their seats. 

“Why are we stoppin’?”

2D cleared his throat and Noodle began fiddling with her map again.

“Get goin’, would ya, Dents?” Murdoc groaned and once again disappeared into the back, not without throwing the peanuts he had apparently been snacking on at 2D’s face.

The singer sighed and turned back to look out the window.

“Let’s get going?” he asked no one in particular. 

But since Noodle was the only one with him she was the one to answer.

“Let’s.”


	4. if you come with me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 4: Nautical Fantasy

It all started with a sound.

A sound unlike any he’s ever heard before. It was only faint, the waves distorting it, breaking it apart, but he still heard it. It wasn’t just the one sound. There were others. And slowly, after taking their time, they began to sing a sweet melody, and he couldn’t help but follow it.

He shouldn’t. But he did anyway. He had heard many siren songs before, but never anything like this. The soft humming of his mother, the way his father would sing for her, everyone else’s voices whenever they would sing for the humans, they seemed all so very the same in comparison to the unfamiliar sound that burned its way into his eardrums, right down to his very core. It’s like his mother always said. Someday he’d hear a song that would speak to his soul and that would be the day his heart would be split in two. Whether she meant that literally or figuratively, he was still trying to figure out.

He never sang to Paula. And she never sang to him. They both knew their songs weren’t meant for each other, so they never bothered.

But this song from above called for him, part of him tearing the other half towards it.

The moment his head breached the surface his world turned upside down.

She was human. So very distinctively human with the two legs, covered in rosy skin, the dry hair and finless body.

He thought she was beautiful.

The way the rising sun framed her entire being like a halo and the way she softly smiled to herself as her fingers moved across the long neck of the instrument.

He knew the concept of course.

He had seen others use seashells to create these otherworldly sounds above the water to accompany their singing.

But the human girl’s wooden contraption was unlike anything he’d ever seen and its sounds were so very stranger to his ears but so soothing at the same time.

What was it about it that made his heart ache for something he didn’t know how to name? Was it a strange melancholy for something long forgotten? The ache for something beyond the things he knew? The girl sitting on the pier above him cradling it in her arms?

He didn’t want to interrupt her, but his body was moving on his own.

Her fingers froze and her eyes widened once his voice broke through the morning fog.

The moment their eyes met, his heart and soul split in two, a part of him now held in her hands, alongside their song.

With a cautious expression she continued the melody, adjusting to his vocals, her eyes trained on his shimmering scales.

He wouldn’t pull her down into the deep.

He had to preserve that sweet sound for all eternity, protect it and its source at all cost. It was his, and his was hers, no matter how many age-old traditions he had to break to be able to sing to her. He wouldn’t allow anyone to taint her with darkness, not even himself.

Against every odd, he was the one drowning in her.

He did allow himself to reach out his hand once their song has ended.

Calloused fingers met his claws and his fate was sealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fishpeople soulmates?
> 
> Fishpeople soulmates.


	5. and when you got it

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Day 5: Summer Festival
> 
> incidentally, today is the start of the Kumagaya Uchiwa Matsuri so that's neat, idk if it has lanterns tho.

Sweat beads at the temple of his brow, a lazy flap of cool wind brushes his cheek from the uchiwa fan in his hand, he balances on his sandaled feet in a slow gait, trying not to fall from the long skirt of his yukata as people push past him in a busy stream. The sounds of children laughing echo his ears, loud sizzles from food frying wafting, and the mass of cicadas crying makes him wonder if they, too, are uncomfortable with the muggy humidity.

He wonders where Murdoc is, where Russel had gone, where Ace went. He can’t find them, and he doesn’t remember where they had promised to meet.

His free hand lowers the mask on his face, fully covering the bottom half he had left to air out. It feels better this way, just as it had back on the beach, hiding him from the whale, and when his stomach grumbles stubbornly, he begins to wander to the closest stall, bending down to take in the smell.

He’s taking out his wallet, a sleek leather he had been gifted by Noodle on his birthday, when an elbow smacks into his side, sending a few coins to the ground. 2D looks to his side, a young woman apologizes profusely, her friends standing beside her snickering.

 _“Are you okay?”_ he asks in clumsy Japanese, the little that he knows, pocketing the fallen yen.

 _“Y-Yes!”_ the girl stutters, her face colored and truly, the weather is hot tonight.

Just as Noodle said it would be. 

He gives a small nod before turning back to the stall owner, slipping the mask up his head, and pays, ignoring the woman’s sharp intake of breath.

The chef thanks him with a big smile, giving him a paper bag, two sticks of hot yakitori inside.

2D takes a few steps off to the side, not wanting to hinder the growing line, and bites down on one, emitting a happy groan from the savory taste.

“Um…”

It’s the woman.

“Are you a tourist?” she asks, her English accented in a near-charming mien. She fiddled with her sleeve; her complexion in an oh-so-familiar flush.

2D drops the stick back in the bag, talking back with a full mouth, “Yeah, my friends and I came from England, but I don’t know where they went.” He paused for a second, swallowing the remaining bits down his throat, “I’ll probably find them back in the hotel though.”

The woman shuffles her feet, one of her friends shakes her shoulder, tittering in words too fast for him to register.

“T-then, if you don’t mind,” she looks at his face and he blinks back patiently, “maybe we-”

“2D!”

_Oh._

Slender arms wrap around his middle, the scent of almond lotion and dying cigarette ash familiar.

_Noodle._

He turns in her embrace and smiles, “You found me.”

Her arms slink from his sides to his free arm, nudging in the space between him and the lady before them, pressing his arm tight against her chest. She looks at his face and laughs, reaching up for him.

Her thumb swipes the glaze sticking to his bottom lip, pulling it down a teasing fraction, lingering, heat clutching from her touch.

2D hopes she doesn’t notice the skipping beat his heart makes watching her lick the sauce off her thumb clean.

“Who’s this?” Noodle asks, taking notice of the woman from before whose expression seemed to have dropped.

“A stranger.”

There was a second of silence before the girl’s friends grabbed the girl and trotted off in a huff.

Noodle scowled, her cheeks puffed in minute irritation, clutching his arm tighter, “Well that was rude of them.”

2D looks down her profile, not saying anything as she starts to talk about their friends. She is still so short despite the polished wooden geta she wore out of the hotel room and yet she extruded an energetic energy, so nicely dressed in her white yukata, the brilliant blooming red poppies fighting for attention. The mischievous expression of her old cat mask resting on her messy chignon chides at him coyly.

“-and you should’ve seen Murdoc with the pickle jar, he…” she raises a brow at him and laughs, stopping her story, “What are you doing right now?”

He waves the half-eaten stick of yakitori in her face, the bag crinkling in the crook of his elbow, letting the smell do all the talking.

Again, she laughs, the sound tickling his heart, and pats his arm.

“Let me take you somewhere.”

And he follows her as she takes them down to the river.

Noodle is next to him as they sit on the cool grass, her head turned downward in concentration, a marker in one hand and a lantern in the other, writing in pretty strokes he wishes he could read.

The crying cicadas set aside their fading woe into the darkened night, there are children and couples and families speaking in hushed tenderness, and lit lanterns float by in the distant sounds of the river moving by in a serene idleness, allowing their luminesce to bathe the festival goers in the dazing glow as they watched in contented rapture.

“There were twenty-three of us, you know.”

Her voice was quiet and strange, whispering in a resigned acceptance, her inky fringe slipping out over her eyes, hiding away from his sight.

“I know I talk big about it now, but,” she stroked her fingers over the characters in a sluggish trace, “We were all kids. Orphaned kids with no names or purpose other than being some soulless weapon ready to kill on order.”

She bent down to set the lantern afloat. The boat bobbed and the water rippled.

“I pitied _her_ too, despite everything, for being too much like me.”

Noodle released her hold, a mild breeze pushing the paper, whisking the lantern away.

“I’m glad you guys found me,” Noodle murmured and leaned her head on his shoulder, taking hold of one of his hands, intertwining their fingers in an affectionate squeeze, “I’m glad I found you.”

_Ah._

He can’t stop it.

It's the heat.

Swirling past him, through him, warmth glides into his chest, wrapping around his heart, the fluttering rise of devotion surging out of him in an invasion.

_You found me._

2D turns, making her face him, a hand reaching into his sleeve, he holds her curious face still, her rosy cheek now resting on his large palm, a tingle dancing on his skin as her breathy exhale touches him.

_You found me._

Taking out an ornate vermilion flower ornament, a prize he had won secretly for her, a careful hand places the hairpin in, and he chuckles at the rustling chime from the attached bells.

2D glances at Noodle’s face, the pink dazzling in the light, and beams bright, imitating the lustering moon, his eyes curved into crescents as he tracks the twinkling silver stars.

_You found me._

“And now I won’t lose you.”


	6. and think you're dreamin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day 6: Stargazing

„Where are we going?“ Noodle laughed as she was being dragged behind a humming 2D.

It was a clear night, the sky free from clouds and light pollution. Just a few minutes before midnight, the singer had grabbed her hand and told her he wanted to go out for a walk. A bit confused but also amused, she had gone along with one of his many whims, and now they were strolling through the empty streets, obviously looking for something, but Noodle had stayed patient and shoved her own curiosity down so far.

2D hadn’t been himself recently, so it was rare to see him so excited about something. After the thing with their bassist, 2D had been acting up, trying to be the new Murdoc of the group, which of course didn’t work out that well. At first, he had been fine, enjoying the time without the green bastard around, the way the other new green bastard, Ace, was actually being nice to him, but after a while, he had just gotten worse and worse. He was high most of the time, hiding in his room except for when he got these sudden urges to go out and be weird. Weirder than usual. Everything about him just had been off. From the way he had been talking, acting, all erratic and nonsensical, to the way he would shut her and Russel out. One day she had had enough and went out to find Murdoc. She had wanted to drag him back home from whatever stunt he had been pulling with their fans, dragging them all into highly illegal and dangerous territory, make him apologize to 2D for everything he had ever done and then personally decapitate him. But then she had found him half frozen to death on a yak out of all things. And for once in her life she had actually felt sorry for the old man. Then he had told her it had all been fake. She had been so close to just pulling her sword and push it right through his heart. But once again he had surprised her, chuckling, saying the most out of character thing ever, delirious, and probably not even aware of anything around him.

_“They were all cheering for me. They like me. They like me.”_

Noodle stared at 2D’s back, still drowning in her thoughts and memories.

“Where did you go?”

“Huh?”

2D just grinned at her, shook his head and continued on his way, his hand still clasped with her own.

His smile was beautiful. She had missed it. Not the one he would wear together with red rimmed and dazed eyes, or the one he would force to make it seem like he was fine. She had missed his genuine one, the one where he showed off his missing teeth, not caring about what others would think, the one that made his onyx eyes shine brighter than the stars, the one that made the corners of his eyes wrinkle in joy.

The first time she had seen in she was just a child. It had immediately entranced her, and despite the language barrier she knew that that was a genuine smile, a smile she could trust, a smile she swore to protect at all cost. That smile returned the day she had plopped Murdoc down in front of their loopy singer, telling them to shake hands and make up as if they were little children. She had grabbed the still confused Russel and listened in together with him. There hadn’t been much talking, but from what they had been able to hear, everything would return to the same old. Just better.

Maybe.

At least 2D’s smile returned. And that was a giant step in the right direction for her.

The first day he had shown up for breakfast without tinted sunglasses, he shyly smiled at her and accepted the cup of tea Russel offered him. Murdoc had creeped in a bit later too, slurping on his coffee without saying anything degrading even once.

She could work with this alright.

Noodle kept following 2D and after a few minutes they reached the outskirts of the forest. 2D abruptly stopped.

“What…”

“Look up.”

So she did.

Stars were scattered across the sky, clear like she had never seen before. Streaks of pure light painted above their heads, disappearing behind the horizon.

“Shooting stars,” Noodle whispered in awe.

“News said there would be a meteor shower. Thought it might be nice…,” 2D murmured.

The guitarist turned to look at her friend and her breath got caught in her throat. The way the stars were mirrored in his eyes, she thought it was even more beautiful than the sky itself.

With everything that had happened, she had completely pushed aside her own feelings on the matter. She had just wanted to see everyone get along, to see her family be close again. She had been absent for such a long time, out travelling on her own, now that she was finally reunited with them all, she just wanted to keep it like this forever. But maybe…

Maybe some change wouldn’t be all that bad.

“It’s really pretty.”

Noodle smiled at his childlike expression, so full of joy, unlike the person that she had been living with just a few weeks ago. Maybe this whole experience was a way for them to become better, stronger and closer. Maybe all this chaos would lead to some good after all.

“It is,” she whispered, still looking at the sky in his eyes.

Wasn’t that their entire story though? Something beautiful out of something broken. Like a phoenix rising from ashes.

She gently took 2D’s hand in her own, enjoying the way he startled a bit, looking down at her with those big round eyes of his. After a moment of confusion, he smiled softly, entangling his fingers with hers.

And she decided that they would be just fine.


End file.
